Manufacturers have been making various types of toy darts, such as a dart having a foam body and a cap attached to one end of the dart body, that may be launched with a compatible toy dart launcher toward a person or an object. The caps of the toys darts are generally made of a material other than foam that allows the dart to be shot from the launcher at a targeted person or object and/or propelled over an appropriate distance and/or at a relatively quick speed. It is important to achieve at least one or more of these objectives with varying degrees of importance, without injuring, or at least limiting the injury or discomfort felt by, the targeted person or object.
Maintaining safety has become more challenging as customers want to have improved darts that are even more accurate, travel at even faster speeds, and/or travel over even longer distances. At the same time, toy darts must also meet government-mandated safety requirements that are tightened from time to time. For example, in the United States, ASTM F 963-16, The Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety, is currently mandated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. This Standard specifies a Kinetic Energy Density (KED) test with a maximum of 2500 J/m2 (Joules/meter square) for projectile toys. Thus, consumer demands for improvements in toy dart performance require new toy dart designs that are safe.
What is needed is an improved foam dart toy, which can meet performance specifications regarding distance, speed and/or accuracy while at the same time maintaining appropriate safety precautions to avoid and/or limit injuries upon impact.